Westboro Baptist Church Plans To Picket Ronnie James Dio Memorial Service

The recent announcement that there would be a public memorial service for the late heavy metal icon Ronnie James Dio was one that fans all over the world were extremely happy about, as it is a great way to remember a greater man. However, the memorial could be spoiled by the Westboro Baptist Church who has announced that they plan to picket the event, as people like Ronnie James Dio (i.e. people with intelligence) apparantly are Satanic.

They claim the protest is "to remind you who worship that old Serpent, Satan, that your time is very short. You know 67 year old, Satan-worshiping (or at least one of their enablers) Ronnie James Dio (of showing his devil horns to the world each time he goes in public) Black Sabbath fame is dead, right? We'll be there! Just because the chances of any of God's elect being amongst this group of heavy metal sycophants is slim to none does not mean they should not get some good words.

"He hates his neighbor(s) starting with Ozzy Osbourne, and continuing down to his pornography star niece Gen Padova!

"He hates God. Pay especial attention to the fact that he changed his original sir name from Padova to Dio, which means God in Italian.

"Ronnie the simpleton enabled, and encouraged Sorceries: everything he was about including the little finger horn thing (he got this from his mother which is an incantation to ward off the 'evil eye') to the drugs, bloody raw meat and his fellowship with those pentagon necklace wearing freakish band members."

The memorial is scheduled to take place at The Hall Of Liberty in Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles, CA at two in the afternoon on May 30th.

And I hope people will just ignore them because it is not a nice thing to do if the people at the memorial starts violence. It should be a time of peace and mourning. Ignore them like they never exist and walk past them without recognizing their poor existent.

Let's not give importance to those poor brain washed idiots and not to step to their level.

To all metalheads that will there including myself, please no violence. Can't imagine how Wendy and Dio's family and friends will feel if violence starts. It's disrespectful to Dio's memory.

That's just downright disgusting. I am very surprised by the lack of respect for the dead. There is no valid reason to picket any funeral or memorial service - there is no need to upset mourners any more than they are already upset. There are far better and more influential things to picket than this; I can't see how they see this as a good idea.

I suppose I should not be that surprised; they cannot get their facts straight. As an example, they state he is a satanist, but there is no evidence of this and believe there is evidence to the contrary.

Thank you for sharing so much of yourself in our time and generations, we loved you and our hearts are shattered. Take your wings and learn to fly, the man on the silver mountain with your thundering vocals that have reached the sky. Your music will be celebrated far beyond the bend, on the road "Goodbye" that will never end.

You are mourned like there is no tomorrow... so much love, yet so much sorrow. You were a wise man of many words and yes, "Heaven and Hell" is our destiny. We long to hear you once again, please wait for us around the bend on the road "Goodbye" - it won't be long and we shall follow... \m/ ~ Nita Neets

This ( outside of an embarrassing lack of funds ) is the primary reason why I wouldn't go to the memorial service.I would hate myself for a long time if I were to show up & totally ruin Dio's memorial and all of the things great people like Ronnie stood for - like free speech - by beating some xtian fool until he/she begged for death with his/her own picket sign.

these christians shall all rot in hell f*** them they are f***ing retarded dio did what he wanted to do with his life so who cares. just because they like to f*** their story book in the binding doesnt mean every person has to believe in it. thast the problem with religious people they think everyone should believe in that sh**. wake up call ALL THAT sh** IS sh** YOU ARE LIED TO ABOUT SINCE THE TIME YOU WERE BORN. how can you believe in something you cant see? f*** your religion!!! ii could give a sh** what you believe i stand for no one elses belief but my own

As a Christian metal fan, these guys really piss me off &gt;___&gt;I've never seen Westboro Baptists do anything worth while. What about Christian metal musicians like Nicko or Dave Mustaine? what do they think of them, that they are hellbound for associating themselves with 'Satanic Enablers'? Thats not how Christianity works, and i wish Westboro would take a day off to respect the dead (not like they've ever done that before though)

Reading this really disgusts me. I agree with post #2 as well, but if I had a black metal posse, I'd go church burning. But that would just play into their hands. The church is found looking like the hate-wiedling extremists here, and it should be left that way to sink in a bit. Picketing a funeral seems that is would be against their ideology, but what do I know.

As a Christian and a Metalhead i'm profoundly disappointed in this. but its no surprise since the WBC as someone else put it is pretty much a "cult" they in no ways represent what i see as the mainstream christian understanding. these people piss me off! Posts 2 and fourteen were right on

The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is an Independent Baptist church and hate group known for its hatred of homosexuals and its protest activities, which include picketing funerals and desecrating the American flag. It is headed by Fred Phelps and consists mostly of members of his large family. (from wikipedia)

These (I hesitate to use the word) people picket the funerals of American service men who gave there lives for thier country.

These acts are so heinous I can not describe them in all their detail so read for your self.

I dont think their god or any god would condone this act greed. My opinion....While i defend religon in most cases, i cannot defend the actions of these people who dont know what ronnie james dio was about, or his family backround and italian up bringing...... to me these kind of extremists make the entire religous communtiy look like jerks, and that is far from the truth....as i can see already by reading some of these posts, that the entire christian faith/base is being sterotyped as a bunch of lunatics by these actions, which is as much a load of sh!t as this alleged protest....."If you listen to fools the mob rules"..What a great quote, especially in todays society, where everyone and there mother protests everything, and in most cases they havent done there homework, or read the facts....pure speculation and assumption....stupidity at its best

It's almost like the Westboro Baptist Church is intentionally courting the hatred of as many different kinds of people as possible.

First, they protest the funerals of gays. Then they thought hmm... we need to branch out. What's the stereotypically most-different group we can think of to gays, so cover as much territory as possible. I know! Military families!

So they started protesting military funerals. Then they decided to branch out again. "Hmm, what group is as stereotypically different as possible both from the gay community and from the military community? I know, metalheads!"

You know... I try and be as peaceful and loving as I possibly can. I try to help whoever/whenever I can even though I don't make a lot of money... I'd lend my last penny to someone in need. I also try and keep the persepctive that it's utterly pointless to hate someone for their actions because we're all here to learn lessons (some people have some more "basic" lessons to learn...) and grow/evolve. Having said all of that...the actions of these people are terrible and a part of me really wants to see these bastards choke on the business end of a .45 :p But I do agree with whoever mentioned non-violence...I think you have to approach this as passively as possible. Think about it...beating them senseless is only going to fuel their hatred even more and further their twisted ideas that we all follow satan and hate christians and "god allmighty" and that they need to continue these protests because "it's working" and the good is prevailing over evil. Fvck that. We need to welcome them, shake their hands, and treat them as equals. Whenever they bring up their radical ideas you just say kindly "you're entitled to your beliefs but I don't share them." After enough non-reaction from the metal community they would give up and go try and find some other group of people to try and get a rise out of. /end daily rant

I cannot believe what i just read!! I thought April fools day was last month. This is so sad, what vindictive people to (possibly) do this, to someone who never did anything to them and by all accounts was one of the nicest people they ever met. Ohhhhh wait maybe that was Dio's ruse---be nice and they will follow!! Yes thats it, he was a cult leader without us knowing as our brain dead bodies followed all of his sinly wishes. Glad I figured that one out now and can continue with my cleansing. (ok sarcasm mode is now off)

Its good to know that these people will do this for a good reason and that is appearance with no facts to back it up! Why dont these people also picket movie directors and theaters and actors that appear in movies like Twilight, Hellboy,Nightmare on Elm Street and so forth. What a freekin joke. If I remember correctly most of Dios songs dealt with Egyptian themes and such but I guess even if one song mentions something a Holy Diver than you must be infested with the devil and will forever be doomed to an existence in hell!!

Im rambling I know it but this just makes me sick and disgusted that they are so bored with thier lives that they feel the need to do this. I could go on and on (not that I havent already ha) but i'll stop now--had to get that off my chest, the devil made me do it.

In reference to post 35: Understood, but welcoming them and shaking their hands is a bit of a stretch, I think, as they are known for doing this sort of thing; however the non-violence and ingnoring them approach mentioned in post 2 is definitely the way to go.

I don't consider memebers of this "church" Christians. They are a hategroup with a f***ed up mentality that do terrible things under the name of the Chiristan God, which is terrible. Agreed with post 30.

Wish I could be there. As veteran and a metal fan, i feel p***ed off twice over by these WBC fanatics. As you all said it is imperative that we be the better group, both to show how they are the ones who are wrong and more importantly that we honor Dio's memory suitably.

I wrote a support group who has dealt with WBC in the past. Im hoping they can provide some assistance to help us keep this memorial service peaceful. Dio, his family, and the fans deserve nothing less. RIP Dio

yeah but before any of you's start picking up stones to throw - you should wait to see if such a thing will happen in the first place - lest ye be guilty of the same comdemnation wherewith ye judge these folks.

i don't know these folks (wbc) - but i sure would like to know where this info comes from - and also i know what independant baptists are (being one myself - i wont hide it) but post 29 come on - we dont desecrate the american flag (or canadian as myself) - we are not islam ! american baptists are very patriotic of their country and we dont hate homosexuals. We do hate the sin but we love the sinner - which is exactly what Christ taught us to do.

Lets not prejudge something before it actually happens - if it does happen, that is......

ok....i stand corrected.....i googled these folks.....i was surprised.....lets all take a deep breath here.....you can get angry with these folks - which is understandable - but lets not throw the baby out with the bathwater.....not all evangelical christians are as tastless as these folks......and lets not blame God or the Bible for their actions. Christ indeed told his disciples to spread the word - but with meekness and with christian love. Lets remember the actions and words of Christ when the religious radicals of his time would have stoned a prostitute to death. Did Christ say ''Yeah go ahead - god hates fags !'' ??? No, actually he did the very opposite - with compassion he saved her from the pact of religious zealots by convicting them of their own sinfulness and in love told her to go and sin no more......

I'm very sorry that wbc go above and beyond their calling - but they represent the norm and neither do they represent Christ faithfully.

Wow this is ignorant and disgusting.Aren't Christians supposed to respect the dead, and not hate human beings?Ronnie James Dio is not a satanist, and everyone supporting this takes religon WAY to seriously.Ronnie James Dio deserves a memorial, he's made one of the largest impacts on metal, and just because over religous people don't like metal or everything involved in it, they feel they have to protest?

http://www.ronniejamesdio.com: "Ronnie hates prejudice and violence! We need to turn the other cheek on these people that only know how to hate someone they didn't know. We only know how to love someone we know!- Wendy Dio"

OK guys, this is it. I've been trying to raise awareness about these guys for awhile, because I couldn't stand them protesting soldier's funerals. But seriously, this is it. I can't believe they have the audacity to "protest" at Dio's f***ing memorial service. If this happens, I think the metal community needs to declare war on Fred Phelps and the WBC. No joke.

These losers have a link to there "protest" schedule. If there is anyone out there with the abilties needed I would like to put a denial of service attack on their website. Please contact me and I will do all the dirty work I just need the how to. At least we can disrupt their communication. lenman_99@yahoo.com

So what we have here is a bunch of upset and mourning metalheads, and a bunch of right-wing douchebags who are attacking dio after he's dead. I wouldnt wanna be with the westboro group in that situation. HAIL DIO!

I went to a Christian School and remember watching a video of all the Music not to listen to. I remember they played Stairway to Heaven backwards, and implied Billy Idol's White wedding video was supposed to be a satanic church. They even had Duran Duran and Santana's album covers portraying satanic symbols. They even thought the Eagle's Hotel California was satanic. The Eagles out of all bands.

I remember they mentioned the kid on long island who was an Ozzy Osbourne fan and cut out someone's eye because he was influenced by his music. You know, I am sure that kid was a sick SOB to begin with. Ozzy got those lawsuits, for causing a couple of kids to commit suicide. Of course he won the case and free speech won out. I don't know why people actually waste their time. You expect America to be a country where we can express ourselves freely, but you wonder why people have tried to infringe on our democracy. Ozzy in suicide solution was probably singing about his own problems, and his own depression and struggle. It is something many people struggle with, and to blame a musician for some random suicide is truly psychotic. There was Judas Priest song that actually wasn't about suicide that caused a family out in Nevada to file a lawsuit against them. Again free speech won out.

The Westborough baptist church I feel sorry for. They have even protested at upstate NY high schools because the school tried to accept gay students and spoke against bullies.

We must not stay silent about these things. Free expression is under attack.

None of this surprises me even in the slightest. Although I do disagree with protesting his funeral, these guys also hate fags and American Soldiers. They've been known to protest many soldiers funerals. Well I don't agree with Americans stance on the "war" I most certainly wouldn't agree with slandering a fallen soldiers most respected day.

Other than that, these guys are total f***s. Nobody even likes them anyway. f***ING SODOMITES!!!!!!!

I am a born-again Christian and a HUGE metal fan. The "Westboro Baptist Church" in no way represents TRUE Christianity and I abhor all the hatred they vomit. They obviously know NOTHING about the God they claim to follow. Although Dio had differing religious views that me, I highly respected him not only for his immense talent, but for the love and respect he gave to everyone he came in contact with. I'm thankful that I got to finally see him on the last Heaven & Hell tour. Much love and prayers to the Dio family and friends.

the big phat horny devil has now one more slave in the pit of hell......too sad...anyway..do you RJD fans (who are Satanic by logical thinking I believe) honestly think Ronnie James would actually approve a Christian service for God sake? when the guy was notoriously into the occult, demonic, etc? and as someone pointed out kept his "devil horns hand sign" all the time? He won't need to keep doing them now because he is in front of the big Abuser now, prayer won't do at this point and believe me, that's not a happy thing for me either...

because God didn't want anyone to perish but to live in joy forever, John 3:16 for so did God love the world (people) that He gave His only Son so whoever believed in Him (Jesus) wouldn't perish but have everlasting life...but the Bible says there's a place where the "worm never dies..." it keeps tormenting those who are there FOREVER, so my friends ; there are 2 paths to go through : the wide path and the narrow, the first one leads to Hell, the other to Heaven...Ronnie chose to worship Satan and practice wrong religion (Satanism) so I would presume by probabilistic chance that he is in Hell right now, (I don't wish for this, don't get me wrong)

Guys, i cant buy the fact that 100% of these " people" have right wing thinking....majority? ProbablyMaybe im a little biased, im an independent, but i tilt slightly to the right, but its hard for me to phathom that these are all far right kronies....PMRC, tipper gore, left winger...lets not assume....they tried to be the censore police back in the day.... Do most of these have a right wing backround? maybe, all? No way...

I just made a connection: to these mutton heads, intelligence = SatanWe shouldn't even give them the time of day I suppose, but I couldn't help messaging Megan Phelps via Twitter that her intolerant ilk were the true Antichrists.

Dearest Goo Goo,Please step up to kiss my fat bipolar Pagan a$$.Hail Dio. Thank you for the music and for the LOVE you brought to the world. Anyone who was ever fortunate enough to see the man in person must have noted the positive energy he radiated. I did anyway. And I will always love him for the creative inspiration and positive thoughts he gave me. I was an unhappy teenager and there are times when Dio's music gave me the strength not to hurt myself. I know that he is laughing at these fools. We should laugh at them too.Methinks that Goo Goo is in fact a troll. We should probably not be feeding he/she/it. But my comment will stand.

You know what's bloody hilarious? That statement looks like it was written by a 10-year-old kid who learned English from a parrot. There's no such thing as a "sir name", it's "surname". And the grammar and usage is beyond bad.

Whoever wrote that was a complete fool.

And by the way, I think most (if not all) the states have restrictions against picketing funerals and memorial services, so hopefully all will be well.

P.S. I'm a Christian, I like Dio's music, and I have never heard of any group more unchristian than Westboro Baptist Church.

You know , it's really funny how these wbc types will proudly wear their fundamentalism on their sleeves - even to the point of disrespecting the recently deceased - but when was the last time you've ever seen a TRULY fundamentalist xtian do this sh** ? You never see AMISH people walking about with inflammatory signs engineered to condemn people - living or dead - who exist outside of their group and they would probably laugh themselves silly at these pseudo-fundamentalists!

I am quiet the opposite of a xtian , but I do know their bible well enough to know that their messiah was credited with saying " My kingdom is not of this world " so how does a BIBLE BELIEVING xtian reconcile protesting a memorial service with not being " of the world " ?

Bottomline: If you claim to be a xtian and you do anything more than politely encouraging others to join you , you are a HYPOCRITE & a LIAR and we all know where liars go...See ya on the end of my PITCHFORK Westboro b****es!

RTB, Right Wing doesn't just mean Republican. The WBC are definitely more right wing than left but they also completely mental. Let's not forget they don't just hate soldiers, homosexuals and Jews, but also America, Ireland and Sweden (for... some reason). I highly recommend going to YouTube and watching the documentary Keith Allen vs Westboro Baptist Church because it gives an insight into how crazy they are and also he takes the piss out of them in their own back yard.

RTB , as a lifelong Libertarian , I agree with you. While I highly doubt that you will find any democrats amongst the WBC idiots , we should not assume that only the right attacks free speech. The saddest part of that is the fact that few people know just how much the authoritarian left practices censorship , not in the name of religion , but P.C. thought control.

If only Tipper Gore was the only example - lets not forget the author of the college speech code - Noam Chomsky...I could give more examples if space permitted.

We also have the obvious left wingers who suppress free speech in Communism. Couldn't say sh** under their rule. But that's beside the point. While I was the one who posted this article (and I did my best to remain professional and not launch into a tirade about the WBC), I can't help but be annoyed with myself as in posting it, I've given them the publicity they so badly crave. Ah well, had to be done.

By the way if anyone is interested in that documentary I mentioned before (Keith Allen Will Burn In Hell) then here's the link. Well worth watching if you want a funny way of beating these fools.

As i understand it, the original point of the metal movement was almost a reaction to severe religious oppression. The best way to get a reaction is to embrace the complete opposite views of the oppressor, hence Satan. 30 years or so later, you'd think the religious establishment would get it. I say BIG FAT HORNS. \m/

@RTB-- "Guys, i cant buy the fact that 100% of these " people" have right wing thinking...."

RTB-- it's a tiny cult in Topeka Kansas, made up of this Phelps guy and his extended family. Of course they all think the same-- they're a bloody cult. And yes, batsh**-crazy left-wing cults have certainly also existed. But this particular batsh**-crazy cult happens to be right-wing.

The story below is f***ING OUTRAGEOUS! He has sued a grieving member of a FALLEN SOLDIER. I encourage everyone to write your local mosques, or better yet ones in KS, that you are a member of WBC, and that you blaspheme the prophet Muhammad. Provide your return address as the WBC, 3701 Southwest 12th Street Topeka, KS 66604. America thanks you.

I am disgusted that these hateful freaks are still at it. I ran into these nut jobs years ago when I worked at Coors (they were protesting our diversity policy regarding gays). I hope that Wendy does not have to see them at the funeral. Maybe Dio fans can volunteer to be a human wall against these horrible people so that his loved ones can grieve and remember him in peace.

Yes, an abhorrent display of twisted bile and ineptitude... Pentagons indeed!!! This is just another simple minded attempt to gain publicity for this wretched congregation off the back of a man who displayed more righteousness than the whole sorry lot of them multiplied by a hundred! The true face of the Lord of hate emerges, the mask slips further, and soon maybe even simpletons will see the word of "God" for what it is. Non~violence IS the way to draw them out.... Be intelligent, and HONOUR the dead! HAIL!!!

i cant say what i want to say to i cant even say there name i get sick i have a gift for them6666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666 is that good a$$ hole dio ruls i love you 4 life

That Phelps shows all the right signs for a mind controlling, abusive, incestuous pedophile. It's classic misdirection to shout so loudly about the things you are secretly guilty of! I've never trusted anyone who goes on obsessively about "grasses" or "nonses" or whatever..... What are they trying to hide, I wonder?

Their claim that Dio's death was divine retribution, and a warning for others:

While he was definitely taken away from us way too soon-- dying peacefully at the age of 67, surrounded by dear friends, family, and loved ones, mourned by thousands of people around the globe, leaving behind a legacy that will live on long after: this doesn't strike me as such a horrible fate as to make me quake in fear and mend my ways to avoid.

Yes, 67 is too young, especially for someone so vibrant. And given my choice of deaths, cancer of any kind would not be at the top of my list. But if I wanted to visit divine retribution on someone with a fate so horrible that it would serve as a warning to others-- Dio's life and death wouldn't be what I'd choose.

I won't lower myself to the Westboro level of mudslinging, but they are the very reason religion isn't taken as seriously or respected, they are no better than the fundamentalists who brainwash and commit attrocities the world over and really make a mockery of the word Christian. Perhaps they should take a leaf out of their holy book and actually read the parts about love and understanding rather than the fire and brimstone bullsh*t that turns the sensible rational world away from them.

RIP Ronnie!

And, no I'm not a Christian, but I do have respect for religion that isn't hypocritical

Post 86- couldn't agree more. To my knowledge, there has never been a time when WBC spoke out against somebody who deserved to be insulted. And RTB, don't feel too upset about these guys being insane and on the far right of the political spectrum. I'm an independent who tends to lean slightly right, but in my opinion these guys barely fit on a conventional political spectrum. I think most people have some difficulty when they try to fathom just how insane these people are, and while turning the other cheek might work for Dio's memorial service, in the long run these people need to be brought into the national spot light because they really are detrimental to our nation.

In fact, I don't even see how freedom of speech protects acts such as "protesting" soldier's funerals, because a) it's emotionally distressful to the family of the fallen hero, b) it's not about spreading ideas, it's using an absolutely inappropriate venue to spew hatred and c) it's completely subversive and attempts to undermine the United States and its military extensions. What I really want to know is, how come nobody is protesting the WBC? Has anybody sat outside of their building during their twisted little masses and just blasted through albums like Reign in Blood or Holy Diver?

extremely funny...WBC cannot even get his original last name correct.........I am from Cortland and knew Dio .........use to see him play at small venues and sometimes with older brothers of friends that were in bands with him over the years......religious people are nuts....plain nuts!

^LIJEMO & POST 78I stand corrected on this group, i did research and found out how wacky they are. So my apologies for this mistake on this group/ republicans...I get a bit defensive when church goers in general ( christian baptist methodist morman etc) are labeled far right/ republican, puritanical ideologists especialy by the media, and in the music industry and that is so far from the truth. The church i attend, which is only about once a month because of my work schedule, has some who are a bit gung ho far right, but most i would say have an open mind, and a staff that only preach the good book, and how to practice good decision making in life from the teachings of it and not far right/ predjudice thinking.... The WBC is a black eye in the religous communty, i just at the time didnt know how black. I appreciate the posts and the constructive criticisms by LIJEMP, POST 78, OZ, and THE GOOSE....good show guys.

A lot of people have been insulted this thread so I'm going to take it upon myself to continue the thread.

Religion is f***ing stupid, you worship in a god who has never shown any sign of giving a f*** about anything, or anyone. Our world is torn apart, but the majority of the time it's about some sort of religious faith being challenged. If you're seriously religious, you've been blindfolded by the world.

This is just stupid f***ing people who know nothing of the REAL world today, who accuse a renowned legend of being a satan worshiper. I swear they're like a spoiled little adolescent brother who always picks a fight.

It's time for the metal community to be the bigger person, and shut the f*** up, because no matter what we say, they will come back with another foolish, blind attack, maybe at Dimebag or the easier target, Slayer in general.

we all know who's going to hell here... these zealots need only step out onto their own porch to focus any protest in the correct direction - straight to their open entryway -- don't let the door hit themselves in the asses on the way in.

Many of the zealot Christian groups are nothing more than what their origins indicate - middle-eastern hate-mongerers who believe in a god of vengeance and punishment. Let's not lose sight of that. Whatever christianity has become in modern times, it is still the sibling faith of the middle eastern Abrahamics - Islam, Judaism, and Christianity all have the same hate-filled ideology that God loves no one but them and will severely punish anyone who disagrees. RJD believed in spirituality and that is usually diametrically opposed to "organized religion". This "church" and others like them are the root cause of all hatred and war in the world, and I for one, am ashamed that this kind of idiocy still exists in an advanced country in the 21st century. The Gods Bless Ronnie James Dio \m/ \m/

I spoke with a rep from the Guard Riders. He left me with some solid advice to pass along, which a lot of you have mentioned:

"This group seeks attention. Deny them that. Ignore them. Any interaction with them increases the probability of a bigger write-up in the newspaper.

Any thought of winning an altercation with them is an illusion. You can run up to one of them and bust their jaw and run away and think you've gotten away with it. The truth is that you have just let them win. They have very little interest in catching and suing you, although they might if law enforcement apprehends you.

The PGR has been quite successful at this (denying them cause for lawsuits, i.e. funding), so they are now seeking alternative things to protest where they know we will not be (this memorial).

It is possible that there would be a lot of "hype" about this group for a few days leading up to the memorial. In this instance, the media is a great supporter of this group. [Instead] Have people call in the radio and TV stations and tell listeners what I have told you.

Simply because of the notoriety of this group, I would expect the local law enforcement to be well prepared after a permit is applied for. They have their own communications networks for learning how to address this kind of event and being a large city (Los Angeles) I believe they would "lay down the law". "

Thanks to the Patriots for taking time to respond. Sounds like good advice.

He he.... Get Varg to burn em down..... Quite funny. On that subject: Isn't the Westboro baptist church the kind of cult that Mayhem once said in an interview back in the days that they supported (in contradistinction to the liberal, peace loving Christians) for their stance as a truly Satanic, misanthropic, hate~group (as opposed to the liberal forms of so~called Satanism that the band were rejecting)? With this in mind they should be ignored as best as possible and left to rot.... Unless you want to associate yourself with genuine Satanic warmongers!

One more thing... Post 97 ~ spot on!!!! They must be starved of the oxygen of publicity........... Bruce Lee said it in Enter the Dragon............. "fighting without fighting". But I also agree that in the longer run there must be real hardcore pro~active movements against them... Intelligence married to a steely resolve not to take this kind of sh** lying down. Don't blow yer stack in one violent offensive that only plays into their grubby hands............ Take a bit of time.... plan, mobilize, and TAKE EM DOWN PROPERLY... AND FOR GOOD!!!

Not terribly surprising but very hurtful. These are the ones praying their satan and the all mighty GOD....MONEY!!! It just makes me sick which is why religion is failing on this rock. Ever hear of the word intolerant. I'm so digusted!!!!!

I have had it with these sick people! Who do they think they are????? They think they can get away with this? I have a feeling it is going to get real ugly at Ronnie's memorial service. There are so many Dio fans and this so called "church" will be heavily outnumbered. I really wish I could go to this now. I think it's about time we go do this same thing when one of their members dies. I say the next time one of them kick the bucket, we should get Black Sabbath, Slayer, Death Angel, Lamb of God and Napalm Death to play outside of their funeral. This really pisses me off!!!!!! Ronnie made everyone that came in contact with him feel like they were something special. He put himself beneath everyone else. Just because he sang of things that some would consider satanic, does not in any way, shape or form, mean he was. I bet these idiots preach about Satan all the time in their "church" so does that make them Satan worshipers too? Get a f*ckin life you morons!!!!!

hang on a sec think of it this way... didnt the big guy tell us all to love eachother as you would your brother... well unless their brothers are not from their neck of the woods lets say or metalheads then well..... MASSIVE f***ING RELIGION FAIL XD

LOL @ HOLLOW! So true! Y'know , it's funny how Jews have been stereotyped as being greedy and stingy since time immemorial - but when was the last time any of us saw the B'nai B'rith go on T.V. and beg for millions of dollars?

RTB , I really wasn't giving you constructive criticism - I was agreeing with you. Censorship and fanaticism are NOT the sole property of the political right. In fact , I would venture to say that it is much easier to find republicans who are pro-choice , pro gay rights & anti-censorship than it is to find democrats who believe in gun rights, lowering taxes & strengthening our borders.

The 21st century - mainstream left is a politically correct , egocentric little club that only caters to those who are too scared to defy social trends. Speak your mind outside of their party line and they demand that you return your cool kids card back to them POST HASTE.

i belong to NO fvcking 'faith' or ANY goddamned political propaganda.....they are ALL merely facets of the same counterfeit coin....heads, tails, or the 'radical' edges...

but please, MORE'MAN....explain to me exactly who are these many liberal minded republicans you speak so appraisingly of....

and WHO the fvck are these democrats that are killing our right to bear arms (for responsible, law abiding citizens...the proclaimed 'highest office in the land'), sky-driving taxes, and shirking our border-keeping responsibilities??

the ENTIRE fvcking charade is FULL OF SH!T....it was an insidious stroke of evil genious by the founding fathers of this decent land to divide our people by 'party'....to thusly create opposition amongst our generally good public, as a smokescreen (under the opaquely transparent false guise that is adoringly termed 'democracy') to prevent outright challenge and potential insurgency against this so 'beloved' kingdom of treachery....and yes, it extends FAR and wide beyond our national borders

believe it at ALL of our peril, you certainly won't be alone in that....the human sheep flock by the literal hundreds of millions....and then we have fvcking hundreds of millions more as our designated enemies by their own fanatical conviction....yeah, great fun :)

it don't matter anyway now....it's really much too late to do anything about it

we're all of us living this fvcking charade by common birth....we just have to deal with it and make the best of it however we can

and no, i ain't no pacifist....but ain't a hopeless anarchist either....

its a fvcked up game, with precious few big-picture, long-term winners...on this earth anyway

f*** all those unrespectful bastards..Even if you hate god or hate satan, you should still pay respect to someone who passed. And the fact that they didn't even know him personally doesn't give them the f***ing right to judge the person and especially desecrate his funeral... Hope their church get burned those damn c***s..

Hellrat, with all due respect, your statement regarding our Founding Fathers " creating parties " as a stroke of evil genius is incorrect. Our Founding Fathers where GREAT men who HATED parties and partisan politics - and lost no opportunity to say so ( I will find some quotes to post ).Parties and special interest groups did not appear on the American scene until the early-middle part of the 19th century.

To my knowledge, the only " party " our Founding Fathers belonged to was Freemasonry - an organization that has done more to help make the world a better place than any of the religions that decry it could ever hope to do!

don't bother with the quotes MORE'MAN....i ain't gonna get in a political wrangle with ya....

while washington warned that "the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it in the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it", the two party system was established during his presidency in the early 1790'swith the formation of hamilton's federalists and jefferson/madison's democratic republicans....

also don't agree at all with your take on freemasonry....but i don't have the time or remote interest to argue that with you either

i will ALWAYS state my point of view, but i ain't here to convince ANYone of ANYthing....you are all free to take it or leave it---it don't bug me none

freemasonry is a luciferian sect. do your research. its true that alot of the founding fathers (coming from scotland/britain) were freemasons - such as washington and franklin. your dollar bill is loaded with freemasonry and occult symbolism making it very hard to decipher and understand america's past. there seems to have been an unholy mixture of freemasonry and christianity and/or catholicism involved in the birth of america.

I don't know if anyone mentioned this yet, but if WBC new anything about Christianity, they'd know that they can't judge other people, because that's gods job, so obviously, as u all already know, they are fvcking hypocrites, because they made a list of why dio should burn in hell...

well, i think your cherished sermons would come across quite a bit more endearingly if you spit that sh!t rapper style....with beats...and stryper samples ;)

YAY-UH....mmm-hmmm

i heard a reggae tune one time that goes "shake that booty that jesus gave you---shake that booty in the name of the lord! move to the left in the name of jesus, and shake that booty for the highest one!"

DIO's not Satantic: and his music is deeply enrapturing in the mystical magic with loads of heaviness to it that is both "dark & light" and "evil and good" and even "Godly and Satantic" ...'he always balanced everything he did trying to lead many into the Light!!! So, to speak he was and forever will be a mystic Humanitarian...'he cared about the well being of every living Soul/Spirit on this Planet. LET HIM REST IN PEACE and I HOPE HIS MEMORIAL FUNERAL WENT WELL. GODLBESS!

These people make me f***in sick! Blabbermouth had the same thing saying that this congregation has even protested funerals honoring fallen soldiers. Also that they think they have the duty to picket an event just to push across their religious message. Their minister is named Fred Phelps, who is now on my list of "people who I would kill in a heartbeat if I saw them." The other 2 are Nathan Gale's mother and William Grim. R.I.P. Ronnie HORNS UP!

First, as a long time fan, I am outraged.As a long time rivet-head, I would love to mosh with these idiots...however, I think it would be more fitting to say....STAND UP AND SHOUT!

My point?I think an organized(PEACEFUL-ish) HEAVY F'N METAL gathering in these idiot's back yard would teach them some respect, and what it truly means to be HEARD!

These people have been assailing everyone that doesn't fit their twisted little bubble they call a world, including M. Jackson, Jerry Falwell(that is actually kinda funny), the countries of Ireland, Australia, Italy, and the whole U.K., but the worst and lowest is their disrespect to the fallen soldiers at whose funeral's they have trashed to further their own agenda of hatred.

They are the most-hated family in the U.S., just don't attack them, they WILL sue you.

I got there around 1:30 and there was a small group of them on the corner at the entrance to the cemetery but they were easily outnumbered by a huge group of counter protesters. It was a rather stupid waste of time and money on their part as (thankfully) nothing they did affected the memorial in any way.

This sucks! One of my favorit musicans dies before i can meet him and shack his hand and thank him for all the amazing music and helping me find away to be myself (i started playing guitar thanks to his music). Then these a$$holes do this??

May God do all of us a BIG favor!!! Send down a bolt of lightening, and leave a smoking pile of ASH where these (Sac) religious jerks once stood!!! LOL!!! Really, this group of self appointed whatevers are in a word, NUTS!!! The stuff they are doing needs to stop..... maybe we need some "divine intervention"???

I think the stupidest reson was he changed his last name to dio witch meens god and so the think he hates god. how the hell is a f***ing church gona protest a funeral of a man greater than any one of them what the hell kinda of church is that sh** them sh** them still hope the church burns and they die a horrible death sh** them. but i know dio was a very smart, carring, and a great guy and even if they try it is no matter DIO FOREVOR WILL BE REMEMBERD AND LOVED

Do you guys remember Black Sabbaths-After all (the Dead) from Dehumanizer album? I guess now he knows the answer! And we will too! Soon or later, “just one way to see, after all!” R.I.P. Ronnie James Dio

They weren't there yet when I arrived at a little past 11:00; I had to check online when I got back to the hotel to see if they'd shown up at all. Security kept them outside the cemetery, and far away from where the memorial was.